Caloosahatchee and Okeechobee Conditions Report

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Updated: 2023-03-21 09:53:00 EDT

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Purpose

This webpage/report is intended to aggregate information from different agencies (i.e. USACE, SFWMD, FWC, USGS and NOAA) into one spot to help inform local government agencies and stakeholders on conditions within Lake Okeechobee, the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary and Coastal southwest Florida. The data provided here should be considered preliminary and are subject to change.

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USACE Data Summary

Daily discharge volume in Acre-Feet per day for the last 14-days. Data Source: USACE
Date	S77	S78	S79	S310	S351	S352	S354	L8	S308	S80	NthLake 1	WCA1	WCA2	WCA3	ENP 2
03-20	2896	2881	3476	184	1791	736	766	706	809	645	1051	0	0	194	1,350.743
03-19	2495	2271	3849	195	0	0	0	708	774	1000	1049	0	0	206	1,277.355
03-18	2535	1692	2921	289	0	153	216	639	797	1023	1188	0	0	198	1,338.842
03-17	3455	2761	3674	134	125	135	12	502	851	562	1168	0	0	206	1,350.743
03-16	5026	3965	4612	47	504	686	0	520	571	660	1275	0	0	216	1,344.793
03-15	3765	3684	4647	152	1704	1396	424	282	440	564	1150	0	0	268	1,438.016
03-14	3441	2655	4212	179	1989	1482	347	180	635	32	1095	0	129	145	1,451.900
03-13	2993	2639	3174	174	1563	1186	363	787	553	571	1323	0	0	99	1,499.503
03-12	2709	2330	2969	93	1462	740	520	851	647	508	1271	0	0	186	1,422.148
03-11	2920	2094	2956	111	2087	1154	768	851	599	426	1289	0	0	165	1,443.966
03-10	3866	2609	3087	60	2031	1515	653	768	559	468	1295	0	0	163	1,451.900
03-09	4733	3987	4649	142	1626	1466	682	645	758	36	1380	0	0	184	1,303.140
03-08	4463	3936	5246	160	1793	1498	728	712	766	39	1194	0	0	192	1,271.404
1 Includes discharges from Fisheating Creek, S71, S72, S84, S84X, S65E, and S65EX1
2 Estimated as S12s+(S333+S333N)-S356. If no data is present (i.e. -NR-) either S12s, S333s or S356 data is not available.

Download Discharge as .xlsx

Average and total net discharge volume in Acre-Feet per day for the last 7-days. Data Source: USACE
Statistic	S77	S78	S79	S310	S351	S352	S354	L8	S308	S80	NthLake	WCA1	WCA2	WCA3	ENP
Average	3373	2844	3913	169	873	655	252	505	697	641	1140	0	18	205	1,364.627
Total	23613	19909	27391	1180	6113	4588	1765	3537	4877	4486	7978	0	129	1434	9,552.392

Average and total net discharge volume in Acre-Feet per day for the last 14-days. Data Source: USACE
Statistic	S77	S78	S79	S310	S351	S352	S354	L8	S308	S80	NthLake	WCA1	WCA2	WCA3	ENP
Average	3484	2885	3806	148	1283	934	421	627	674	503	1210	0	10	186	1,380.343
Total	45297	37504	49472	1920	16675	12147	5478	8150	8759	6534	15731	0	129	2424	17,944.453

Caloosahatchee Conditions Summary: Flow to the Caloosahatchee Estuary had a 7-day average of 1,973 cfs at S-79 with a 7-day average of 1,701 cfs (86%) coming from the lake at S-77. The 14-day moving average flow at S-79 is 1,936 cfs and has been in the optimal flow envelope (750 - 2100 cfs; RECOVER 2020) for 34 days.

Lake Flows: In the past 7 days the total outflow from Lake Okeechobee was 45,673 AF with 23,613 AF to the Caloosahatchee through S-77,4,877 AF through S-308 in Port Mayaca, 1,180 AF through S-310 in Clewiston, and 12,466 AF to the EAA through S-351, S-352, and S-354. The total net inflow to the Lake was 7,978 AF (7,978 AF from Fisheating Creek, S-71, S-72, S-84s, S-65EX, and S-65EX1) . Water conservation areas received flows of 0 AF, 129 AF, and 1,434 AF at WCA1, WCA2, and WCA3, respectively. Everglades National Park received 9,552 AF.

Lake Okeechobee Level: 14.87 ft (Operational Management Band)

Lake Okeechobee Inflow: 530 cfs

Last Week: 15.11 ft

Lake Okeechobee Outflow: 2005 cfs

Weekly Rainfall Total:

WP Franklin 0.15”

Ortona 0.10”

Moore Haven 0.21”

Download Rainfall as .xlsx ACOE Daily Report 7-day Mean Discharge (cfs)

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Lake Okeechobee

Stage Elevation

Lake Okeechobee daily average stage elevation for water year 2023 (WY2023) relative to the last two water years (red line) relative to the Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule (LORS) .

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Stage and recession rates this time for the current and last three water years
Date (Month-Day)	Water Year	Stage (ft, NGVD29)	7-Day Recession Rate (ft 7-d⁻¹)	30-Day Recession Rate (ft 30-d⁻¹) B
03-19	2020	12.27	-0.14	-0.64
03-20	2021	14.81	-0.23	-0.70
03-20	2022	14.13	-0.02	-0.66
03-20	2023	14.87 A	-0.24	-0.86
A Value estimated from average stage height across L001, L005, L006, LZ40, S133TW, S352HW & S4TW
B -0.5 ft 30-d⁻¹ maximum 30-day Recession Rate for HAB Deviation

• As of 03/20/2023 the mean stage elevation in Lake Okeechobee is within the Operational Low Sub- Management Band at a stage elevation of 14.87 feet (NGVD29).

Lake Okeechobee 7-day and 30-day water level recession/ascension rates during WY2023. Negative values indicate falling water levels (recession) and positive values indicate raising water level (ascension) during this 7-day period .

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Lake Okeechobee 7-day water level recession/ascension rates stop-light metric relative to the draft Snail Kite Performance Measure.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

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Regional Rainfall

Weekly (03/14 - 03/20) rainfall totals along the Caloosahatchee River
Mointoring Location 1	Weekly Rainfall Total (inches) 2
S79 (WP Franklin)	0.1
S78 (Ortona)	0.1
S77 (Moore Haven)	0.2
1 Data Source: SFWMD DBHYDRO (DBKEYS 16414,15495,16415) and USACE reports
2 Based on data from 03/14/2023 - 03/20/2023

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Relative Algae Condition

Sonde monitoring locations within Lake Okeechobee conducted by SFWMD.

Daily Chlorophyll, Phycocyanin,relative ratio of Phycocyanin (Phyco) relative to Phyco and Chlorophyll (Chl) and Turbidity within Lake Okeechobee monitored by SFWMD. Chlorophyll and Phycocyanin are plotted on log-scale. Thresholds of concern/risk identified for Chlorophyll (20 and 40 μg/L) and Phycocyanin (40 μg/L; Cotterill et al 2019 & Macário et al 2015).

Data are provisional and subject to change.

• Cotterill et al (2019) Phycocyanin sensors as an early warning system for cyanobacteria blooms concentrations: a case study in the Rotorua lakes. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 53:555–570.
• Macário et al (2015) New insights towards the establishment of phycocyanin concentration thresholds considering species-specific variability of bloom-forming cyanobacteria. Hydrobiologia 757:155–165.

Weekly mean water quality sonde Chlorophyll and Phycocyanin concentration at monitoring locations across Lake Okeechobee
Site	7-day Mean Chlorophyll Conc. (μg L⁻¹) 1	7-day Mean Phycocyanin Conc. (μg L⁻¹) 1	Green Algal Concern Category 2	Blue-green Algae Concern Category 3
L001	129	0	High Concern	Min. Concern
L005	37	36	Warning	Min. Concern
L006	3	6	Min. Concern	Min. Concern
LZ40	24	39	Warning	Min. Concern
POLESOUT1	11	51	Min. Concern	High Concern
POLESOUT3	7	164	Min. Concern	High Concern
1 Based on data from 03/15/2023 - 03/21/2023
2 Chlorophyll Categories: Min. Concern: values < 20 μg L⁻¹ Warning: values ≥ 20μg L⁻¹ and <40 μg L⁻¹ High Concern: values ≥ 40 μg L⁻¹
3 Phycocyanin Categories: Min. Concern: values < 40 μg L⁻¹ High Concern: values ≥ 40 μg L⁻¹

Algae Coverage

Cyanobacteria Index for Lake Okeechobee for 2023-03-20 (Data Source: NOAA NCCOS)

Average daily windspeed and direction and cyanobacteria algal bloom coverage of Lake Okeechobee. Data from NOAA NCCOS HAB data explorer.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Blue-Green Algae Sampling Results

Blue-green Algae sampling results for the last 30-days for the 10 county area (Lee, Collier, Hendry, Glades, Okeechobee, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe). Data from FDEP Blue-green algae dashboard

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Of the 20 samples collected, cyanobacteria was dominate in 12 samples, 3 samples had toxins present ranging from 0.53 to 0.81 μg L⁻¹ (does not include non-detects).

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Caloosahatchee River Estuary

Discharge

Fort Myers Yacht Basin salinity (SCCF-RECON) and S79 discharge (SFWMD) data for the last six months.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Fort Myers Yacht Basin salinity (SCCF-RECON) and S79 discharge (SFWMD) data for the last last 30 days.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

S-77 (from Lake Okeechobee) and S-79 (to Tidal Basin) flow data along the C-43 and Caloosahatchee River. C-43 Basin Flow was calculated as the difference from S-77 and S-79.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Daily, 14-day moving average and 30-day moving average discharge for S-79 relative to the Northern Estuaries RECOVER performance measure and the established minimium flows and levels (MFLs) for the recent 6-month period.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Daily, 14-day moving average and 30-day moving average discharge for S-79 relative to the Northern Estuaries RECOVER performance measure and the established minimium flows and levels (MFLs) for the recent 30-day period.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

• As of Mar 20, discharges conditions are within the optimum RECOVER salinity envelope.

Cumulative discharge for S-79 (to Tidal Basin) and S-77 (from Lake Okeechobee) for the last three Florida Water Years (May - April). Day of water year is analogous to day of year with Day 1 = May 1^st.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Chlorophyll, Phycocyanin & fDOM

Top: Daily dissolved organic matter (fluorescence DOM). Middle: Daily relative fluorescence Chlorophyll and Phycocyanin observed at the floating sensor bouy at S-79 monitoring by USGS. Bottom: The relative ratio of Phycocyanin (Phyco) relative to Phyco and Chlorophyll (Chl).

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Estuary Salinity

Daily average bottom salinity data for the last 14-days from sampling locations within the tidal Caloosahatchee River Estuary relative to oyster health (Sanibel, Shell Point and Cape Coral) and tape grass (Vallisneria americana) health (Ft. Myers only) conditions.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Red Tide Abundance

Red tide sampling results for the last 30-days from just south of Tampa Bay to the Florida Keys. Data from NOAA HABSOS Program.Data are provisional and subject to change.

Red tide sampling results for the last 30-days from just south of Tampa Bay to the Florida Keys. Data from NOAA HABSOS Program

Data are provisional and subject to change.

Count of samples within each abundance category within the greater Caloosahatchee River Estuary (see grey box on map)
Cell Abundance (Cells L⁻¹)	Number of Samples
not present/background (0-1,000)	9
very low (>1,000-10,000)	7
low (>10,000-100,000)	15
medium (>100,000-1,000,000)	18
high (>1,000,000)	15

Chlorophyll fluorescence for coastal southwest Florida for 2023-03-20 (Data Source: NOAA NCCOS)

Red Tide Forecast

Red Tide Prediction and Tracking for coastal Southwest Florida from FWC and USF link.

Upper and lower water column HAB (Red Tide) forecasted trajectories from Ocean Circulation Group at USF.

Statewide Gulf of Mexico coastal Red Tide forecast from FWC and USF.

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Charlotte Harbor

Discharge

Daily discharge into Charlotte Harbor from major rivers and creeks. Data source: USGS. Grey dashed lines between points indicate a potential data gap with values linearly interpolated.

Data are provisional and subject to change.

 

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